Weather at Monticello

You are here

People

Were some of the Monticello slaves born in Africa?

We do not know. The names of men like Sanco, Mingo, and Quash in Jefferson's 1774 Farm Book lists are suggestive of an African origin. It is probable, however, that most, if not all, of the enslaved persons at Monticello were a number of generations removed from Africa. Jefferson's father, Peter Jefferson, had acquired his laborers in the mid-eighteenth century from other Virginia planters in small lots of one or several. His father-in-law, John Wayles, while not directly engaged in the transatlantic slave trade, was commercially connected to it. It is possible that, among the 135 slaves Jefferson inherited from Wayles in 1774, there may have been native-born Africans.

Based on what is known of the eighteenth-century slave trade to Virginia ports, the forebears of Monticello's slaves were most likely brought from western Africa, especially the land of the Igbo in present Nigeria. Signs of African spiritual and cultural traditions persisted at Monticello into the nineteenth century. Archaeological excavations have unearthed artifacts like a cowrie shell, jewelry items, and a possible playing piece from a West African game, mankala.

Could the Monticello slaves read and write?

Although there is no record that Jefferson provided instruction for his slaves or encouraged them to learn their letters, several enslaved men at Monticello could read and write. There are surviving letters and documents in the hands of woodworker John Hemmings, blacksmith Joseph Fossett, and James Hemings the cook. Although severe legal restrictions on slave education were not enacted in Virginia in Jefferson's lifetime, many plantation owners tried to prevent their slaves from learning their letters. Educated slaves were considered potentially rebellious and those who could write could also forge passes. Nevertheless, some members of Jefferson's family took an interest in the education of enslaved children, and Joseph Fossett's son Peter remembered that Jefferson "allowed" those eager for learning to study with his grandchildren. Slave children also undoubtedly learned from literate members of their own community, as work schedules permitted. Peter Fossett, sold to another man after Jefferson's death, passed his reading and writing skills on to fellow slaves in secret after dark, by the light of pine knots.

Did Monticello slaves attend church?

Fragmentary records indicate a rich spiritual life--incorporating both Christian and African traditions--in the Monticello slave quarters. We know that woodworker John Hemmings and his wife Priscilla held prayer meetings in their cabin and there is at least one reference to a baptism. It is assumed that Jefferson, a fervent believer in freedom of conscience, adopted a laissez-faire attitude toward religion in the slave quarters. Once they gained their freedom, a number of former Monticello slaves became ministers and founded churches.

At the same time that they embraced Christianity, Jefferson's slaves held on to the African belief in the influence of supernatural powers on everyday events. They turned to root doctors and conjurers to help them mediate between the spirit world and their daily lives, to resolve their problems and heal their ailments, and to ward off evil forces or to cast spells. The reputation of one such practitioner of magic and herbal medicine was strong enough to draw at least four African Americans from Monticello twenty miles to the south.

Our new app, available for iOS and Android devices, introduces visitors to the individuals who lived and worked on Mulberry Row, once the industrial hub and “Main Street” of Thomas Jefferson’s 5,000-acre plantation. Free wifi is available on site.

Building upon more than 50 years of archaeological investigation and documentary research, Monticello staff is now in the process of interpreting and restoring Mulberry Row . Lined with more than 20...More >>